The Cleveland Cavaliers had hoped to use the 2024 NBA playoffs as a recruiting tool to convince Donovan Mitchell to stick around.

While the Cavaliers at least made it out of the first round, their second-round journey was little more than a cameo. They just didn’t have enough to seriously challenge the top-seeded Boston Celtics, who ousted them in five games.

Mitchell, who can opt for free agency next summer, reportedly needed an NBA Finals run to commit to a contract extension, per B/R’s Eric Pincus. Without one, Pincus added, Mitchell plans to “look elsewhere” making the Cavaliers “more likely than not” to trade him before he potentially leaves on his own.

Trade watch for this team, in other words, is as much about whether its main star gets subtracted as it is which players could be added around him. We’ll try considering both scenarios while mapping out and ranking potential targets.